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Alexandria, VA - As Congress and the administration home in on policy options aimed at expanding healthcare coverage, Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) President Sandra Kinkade today urged greater inclusion and consideration of air-medical and critical-care ground transport services in evolving reform measures.

"We applaud the commitment of President Obama and Congress to work together with industry stakeholders to curtail costs while also expanding coverage and incorporating information technologies aimed at streamlining the healthcare paperwork process," said Kinkade. "We also were thrilled to be invited to present our perspective at a healthcare reform town hall meeting that preceded the debate in Congress this week. But we strongly recommend that the voice of the medical transport community, which daily plays a critical role in saving the lives of so many Americans will be included in the larger national discussion."

Joining Kinkade in the call for greater inclusion in shaping healthcare reform legislation was Dave Thomson, MS, MD, FACEP, CMTE, CHC, of Syracuse, N.Y., who testified on behalf of AAMS during the healthcare reform town hall event, held by Rep. Ed Towns (D-N.Y.) in Brooklyn on May 9. Speaking inside a packed auditorium, Thomson outlined the important role specialized medical transport providers play, particularly in rural areas where they increasingly serve as a life-saving healthcare safety net.

"Every 90 seconds, a critically ill or injured patient is medevaced in the United States...that's 400,000 patients each year," said Thomson, who also noted that medical transport providers offer critical early-interventions for a number of medical conditions, "including stroke, heart attack, trauma, accident-related injuries, premature labor and birth - to name a few."

But, reliance on air-medical transport, in particular, also has surged - in part because of "aging baby boomers" who are retiring to Sunbelt areas that lack quick access to specialty-care hospitals, and because so many local jurisdictions have closed their emergency departments or cut back on community-based ambulance services. These factors need to be considered in proposed healthcare reform measures, Thomson noted.

Other medical-transport-service concerns include Medicare payment structure changes that have resulted in a dearth of rural trauma and tertiary care-centers; specialty physician shortages, which have frequently necessitated distant air transport; and rising numbers of uninsured patients, particularly in recent months.

But, with a federal law - the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) - which requires medical transport providers to care for all patients regardless of ability to pay, "if we do not cover our costs, we will soon be out of service," Thomson said. "From the standpoint of emergency care providers, a system of universal coverage, therefore, would also ensure greater coverage of costs."

In addition, the system is in need of greater transparency in order to reduce confusing and time-consuming paperwork burdens, differing payment rates and insurance-coverage discrepancies. To help streamline healthcare, AAMS encourages Congress to incorporate proposals for universal information technology.

Other reform recommendations include revamping Medicare reimbursement to include a differential for using the latest aviation and medical-safety technologies; reimbursing emergency medical services (EMS) for the cost of 24-hour preparedness; funding EMS-related research and education; providing incentives for promoting a greater culture of safety; and strengthening ties between EMS, disaster preparedness and public health services.

Finally, AAMS is particularly concerned that sufficient funding be allocated for disaster response. "If there is another Hurricane Katrina or other disaster, be it natural or manmade, we must ensure the ability to transport mass numbers of patients," Thomson testified. "And while it is true that much has been done to address bioterrorism and the growing threat of pandemic flu, it remains that little funding has been devoted to strengthening our emergency-care response and transport system.

"We do have faith, however, that the current healthcare reform effort will help shore up our EMS system before - not after - disaster strikes," he added. "And we respectfully ask that no matter what changes are made, that sufficient money is allocated to allow us to continue this most critical of missions."

About AAMS - The Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) is the trade association serving the entire air and critical care ground medical transport community. AAMS, together with its charitable arm, the Foundation for Air Medical Research and Education (FARE), strives to enhance the medical transport industry by promoting the highest level of industry safety; promoting quality patient care; inspiring commitment to the industry's work, causes, and viability; and providing superior service to its members. For details, see www.aams.org.